2 Staten Island moms charged with beating their children

Two Staten Island moms are in hot water for separate incidents in which they allegedly attacked their kids -- one aged 7; the other, 11.

Erika Cruz, 33, repeatedly slapped her 11-year-old son's arms and legs with a belt in their Clark Lane home in Tompkinsville, court papers said.

The beating took place Wednesday around 10:40 p.m.

"I whipped him with a thin dress belt. It lasted about three minutes," Ms. Cruz told cops, according to court documents.

The boy, whose name is being withheld, suffered bruising.

Court papers did not state a motive for the alleged attack.

Ms. Cruz was charged with a felony count of second-degree assault along with misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

She was to be arraigned today in Stapleton Criminal Court. Ms. Cruz could be sentenced to between two and seven years in prison if ultimately convicted of the felony charge.

In the other incident, Gezime Lata, 31, of Santa Monica Lane, Rossville, allegedly smacked her 7-year-old son in the face with a shoe.

The episode occurred Wednesday around 7 a.m. at home. What provoked it was unclear.

The victim, whose name is being withheld, suffered a black eye.

When the child arrived for school at PS 53 in Bay Terrace, officials there inquired about the eye injury, said a law-enforcement source. The child said his mother had hit him.

School officials reported the incident to authorities as required by law in such cases of suspected abuse, said the source.

Ms. Lata was expected to be arraigned today on misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault, attempted third-degree assault, and endangering the welfare of a children. She also is accused of harassment, a violation.